Abu Dhabi Shares Drop Most in Month on Saudi Decline, Earnings

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi’s shares dropped the most
in almost a month after earnings in Saudi Arabia, the Persian
Gulf’s biggest economy, disappointed and oil declined.

Dana Gas, the fuel producer with $1 billion in debt
maturing this month, lost 2.1 percent. Arkan Building Materials
Co., the owner of companies involved in the construction
industry, fell for the first time in four days. The ADX General
Index slipped 0.5 percent, snapping a four-day advance in the
biggest decrease since Sept. 18, to 2,641.84 at the close in Abu
Dhabi. Qatar’s QE Index rose 0.1 percent.

Shares in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s
biggest bourse, slipped 0.3 percent at the close in Riyadh to
6,661.99, the lowest since July 23, after local lenders,
including Saudi British Bank, missed earnings estimates. The
measure tumbled 1.7 percent yesterday. Oil fell on Oct. 12 after
the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global
demand, saying slower economic growth may limit fuel
consumption.

“Investors are waiting for quarterly results to come out,
and Saudi was hit hard yesterday,” said Nabil Rantisi, managing
director of brokerage at Abu Dhabi-based Menacorp. “Results for
some companies may already be priced in.”

Industries Qatar

Dana Gas dropped 2.1 percent, the most since Sept. 30, to
46 fils after the shares surged 6.8 percent last week on
investor bets the company may reach a resolution with investors
on an Islamic bond maturing later this month. The company may
post a 15 percent advance in quarterly results to 164 million
dirhams ($45 million), according to EFG-Hermes Holding SAE.
Arkan Building Materials, which may announce quarterly results
on Nov. 14, lost 2.6 percent to 74 fils.

Crude for November delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $91.86 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Oct. 12. The
United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and four other members in the
Gulf Cooperation Council supply about a fifth of the world’s
oil. The IEA cut the outlooks for 2012 and 2013 by 100,000
barrels a day each from a month earlier.

In Qatar, shares of Industries Qatar rose 1.1 percent to
144.1 riyals, the highest close since May 8, after the second-biggest petrochemicals maker in the Middle East posted a 27
percent increase in third-quarter profit, beating analysts’
estimates.